Mapping Imagined Worlds: Purpumontem Valley
\Purpumontem Valley A/N: The Purpumontem Valley's name origin: purpura(latin.) - purple + montem(latin.) - mountains. Located in the northern part of the northern country of the Gillikins, Purpumontem Valley is one of those places, that you can only find when you end up lost in the endless purple terrain of the northern division of Oz. Sandwiched between two mountain ranges, just below Uptown, I took a wrong turn when instead of descending north from the Gillikin mountains I went south, but luckily enough things didn't quite go south from there, as I've discovered a place if not lovely, then quite intriguing. The first things you hear rather then see, for that strikes you first, is the absolute silence of your surroundings. The purple mountains seem almost like walls, keeping the noise of the the rest of the country away. And with that sort of a silence, you can hear all that is said by the nature instead, the wind slowly caressing the grass, the leaves dancing. I would have sworn I heard a butterfly flutter its wings. Perhaps that is why when you first encounter a Gillikin inhabiting this peculiar spot, you really, really have to exercise your ears to be able to catch any sounds. Purputees The Gillikins that live here, as I've discovered after a really long conversation which mostly consisted of me asking the poor fellow to repeat what they have just said are named Purputees, which I've thought to be quite appropriate considering the purplish surroundings of this country and the Purputees being completely purple from head to toe save for their eyes, which, interestingly enough, didn't have to stay purple. They could have been any color between red and blue, depending on the intensity of their feelings, good or bad. As striking as their eyes were, the rest of them, maybe because of the juxtaposition, was quite uneventful. They dressed plainly, men, women and children, in what could be described as large sweaters, underneath which you could see short, cotton pants, that didn't stay short at all times and changed their length depending on the weather, which I have discovered to be quite moody. Nothing, and nobody stood out in terms of their physical appearance. They were a foot lower than me, except for one, who non-coincidentally was also their chief warrior. Abzu was a good 3 noticeable feet taller than me. All of them wore their hair long, however, and they did show signs of creativity through that, braiding it in so many kinds of knots, I never would have thought existed. History The only way you could learn about what I assume would have been an extensive history of this land, was to sit through a conversation with Maga, the elderly Purputee, which I, in all honesty, couldn't, as it took me half an hour to hear that she was doing well, having reached 127 years the week before the last full moon. Interesting Folks * Abzu * Maga * Niko Equally Interesting Buildings * Houses * the Temple * Maga's Library